Grapefruit dish



Sept. 23, 1952 D. D. GRIFFIN GRAPEFRUIT DISH Filed Dec,

INVENToR.

matented Srept.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE cumplenRUIT DISHV David D. Griflin, Riclmciond,` Calif. yApplication December 31, 1948, Serial No. 68,481

l This invention relates to table accessories and particularly to those which are used for' compler'nenting table covers in simplifying in Yan effective vand yet elegant manner the. eating of certain natural foods which from their attachment with surrounding non-edible portions are difficult of separation. Fruits such as oranges and grapefruitV and many of the varieties of smaller melons present a diicult problem when served as halves upon a small 'plate or within a bowl of the cereal type. While importantr advancesfhave been made in kitchen appliances which separate the juices and'even the iiesh portions intact of oranges and grapefruit from the pulp and outer skin, no'entirely satisfactory solution to the difficulties posed by the presentation of a freshly-sectioned, semi-spherical grapefruit upon the breakfast table is known. As is thecommon experience of almost everyone, it is necessary to' hold the' grapefruit with one hand while manipulating ,the spoon with the other. The 'unsatisfactory and frequently frustrating sequence which follows ,is too Well known to require repetition here. Suce' it to mention the overall results, however, which invariably include a thorough aciclulousA wetting of the fingers, deposit of much of the juice Lin the receptacle providedanden the'table linen, and a well nigh universal moral'certainty-that the larger portion of thev juice and muchof the flesh somehow become lost "fen route. It is to the alleviation and practical elimination of the foregoing diiiculties that -the present invention is directed.

The principalobject of this invention, therefore, is to provide. an efficient and attractive tablerutensil for immobilizinga half-section of grapefruit or the like in its customarily presentedv position.

Y A further object of the invention is to provide aztable utensil of the character described which iseffective to clamp the grapefruit, for example,

andV also. al downward component to more se-i curelyhold the same in position.

@Alfurthfer lobje'cto'f the' invention is to provide acl'arnp type utensil ofthe character described 2 Claims.' (C1. 654-115) Y which is relativelyflat when not in use and therefore may be readily stacked.

Another object of the invention is to provide a table utensil which is composed of readily accessible components and thus may be readily cleaned after use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a utensil of the character described which is simple and inexpensive to construct and includes no exposed parts which are susceptible to injury in ordinary use.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustratedn the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the show.- ing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the'claims. 1

Reference is now made to the drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of one form of the invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on a lineV 2 2 of Figure 1,

' Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on a line 3--3 of Figure 4 of a modified form of the invention in .which two utensils are in nested relation, Vand Figure 4 is a plan view of the form of the invention shown in Figure 3.

' Reference is made to the drawing and par-v The peripheral portion is preferably providedV with transverse utings or similar indentations to stiien the same and to improve the appearance of the utensil. The diameter of plate I is approximately twice the diameter of the average grapefruit, for example, such dimension being l adequateV for grapefruit of larger or smaller. di-

arneter, however, asy will later appear.

Constituting a fixedreference Point for the central (axis of the vgrapefruit and adapted to extend upwardly into the outer skin thereof, is` a conical pin 3 which is preferably provided with an integral base portion 4 of substantial diam Pin 3 is secured to the plate I in any deeter. sired manner such as by means of the screw 5a projecting upwardly from the lower surface of the plate in a manner which is clearly apparent from Figure 1. The junction of the lower surface of the pin 3 with the base portion 4 is formed as a smooth curve to which the outer skin of the impaled grapefruit is readily conformed in snug engagement. Also the base portion 4 is of slight vertical extent so that there is intimate engagement with the skin of the grapefruit throughout and particularly at the peripheral juncture of such base 4 and the plate I. It will be understood, therefore, and particularly in consideration of the diagrammatic vrepresentation of the grapefruit in Figure 1 that the circular surface of the latter which is in contact with the base I is normally radially beyond the periphery of base portion 4.

Inwardly from the periphery 2 ofthe `plate 'I and spaced equal distances about the conical pin 3 are disposed three anchoring devices for 'the' 4 the construction described there is virtually no lateral freedom for the end portion 9 due to the wide hinge base provided and hence rotative components arising from the manipulation of the users spoon have no effect in dislodging the engagement of such end portions from the fruit. Accordingly, considerable tolerances in the fitting of the hinge pin 'I such as are inevitable in mass production operations still do not materially affect-the efiiciency of the device. v

yAttention is now directedlto the form of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein a more compact and easily nested embodiment is disclosed. In Figure 3 in which one plate is illustrated in its nested position within an identical lower plate, such plate 20 is of circular shape as before but in addition is centrally depressed to form a well '25|V which is relatively shallow and is bounded by outer skin of the grapefruit as the latter appreaches its maximum diameter. Such devices may take the form of lspring pressed jaws 5 having bent up handle portions 6 and tapering marginal walls 6 which are apertured at their bases to accommodate a hinge pin I therein. The latterfis shown as in the form of a screw secured in place by a nut 8 on its opposite end although it is apparent that a hinge pin of any desired type may be used.

The converging end portions 9 of jaws 5 are preferably bent downwardly and are suitably serrated to more firmly engage the skin'of the grapefruit as shown. Thus disposed, jaw ends 9 make only a slight angle with the horizontal and their thrust is therefore largely inward but also downward to a certain extent. This is true regardless of the variation in the diameter of the particular grapefruit being held thereby. Since the major thrust is as stated and in opposition to the anchoring effect of the conical pin 3, the grapefruit will be firmly immobilized to resist radial, axial or tangential manipulation of the users spoon.

For supporting hinge pin 'I above the upper surface of the plate I and thus making possible the pivotal movement of jaw 5 thereabout there is provided a mount which for simplicity may take the form of a U-shaped yoke Il having a pair of spaced ears I'I suitably apertured for the reception of hinge pin 1. For ease of assembly and to provide increased strength the portion of yoke I disposed between ears I I is centrally extended as shown at I 2 and may be secured to the plate I by rivets I3 and I4 or other suitable fasteners. Cupped feet I which provide a satisfactory nonslip engagement with the table or cover thereon are of such radial extent as to cover completely the rivets I3 and I4 and thus provide a neat external appearance for the utensil as viewed from below. Feet I5 may be suitably anchored in place by the use of a suitable cement. They are made preferably of rubber and since they are disposed directly beneath the line of thrust of the jaws 5, distortion of the plate between the adjacent jaws is minimized. A suitable coil spring I6 encircling the hinge pin 'I and having one end portion I' in contact with the under surface of jaw 5 and the other end portion I8 pressing against the yoke IIJ serves to urge the jaw inwardly as will be readily apparent from the drawing. l It is desired to point out the functional .im-

portance of the tapering configuration of the jaws 5 from their relatively wide hinge portion at the hinge pin I to their narrowed end portion 9 which engages the skin of the grapefruit. With aside wall portion which is shown as joining the plate 2E) at a right angle. In addition to the centrally depressed well portion 2|, three equally spaced vtroughs or depressions 22 extend radially outward .from the well 2I for receiving Vspring pressed jawsv 23 therein. Troughs 22 also are relatively wide for their depth and are narrowed inwardly to accommodate the tapering jaws 23 which have the same shape as the jaws 5 of the embodiment of the invention first described. Also the bent up handle portions 24 are similar to handle portions 6 of the Figures l and 2 ernbodiment as will readily lbe apparent. Hinge pin 25 which serves the same purpose as hinge pin 'i of the first ldescribed form of the 'invention passes through side walls of the trough 22 in which it is anchored as by suitable peening over of the end portions. C/oil spring 26 is also similar to spring I6 first described and serves to urge the jaws 23 downwardly as shown in Figure 3.

Particular attention is called to the provision of well 2| and the circular juncture of its lateral wall with the inner margin of the plate 2,0. Such well and the circular juncture referred to serve the same purpose. as the conical pin 3 of the form of the invention first described, namely that of.

centering the grapefruit in the plate and since the central portion of the outer skin of the fruit lies inwardly of the circular juncture referred to asv shown by the dotted outline of the same in Figure 3, there will be an anchoring effect on the grapefruit as a whole when the spring pressedv jaws are in position tending to resist torques resulting, from manipulations of the users spoon.

The form of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4 is particularlysuitable for use in railroad dining cars and aircraft where utmost compactness resultingfrom stacking or nesting of the superposed plates isV desirable. At this point .it might also be pointed out that this invention will add to the enjoyment of aircraft travel since the utensil described. Since the jaw members press the grapefruit inwardly from three directions, there is no localized squeezing of the skin' by the fingers resulting in juice being extracted from vthe fruit at undesired areas thereof and consequent overflow of the same down the 4sides of the skin. Accordingly, elegant and efllcient serving of` grapefruit on aircraft even under unstable vflight conditions may now become a,v reality since the ,plate` holding the spring jaws may be held at an angle which is considerable with respect to a horizontal plane without dimculty.

I claim:

1. A table accessory for holding semi-spherical portions of grapefruit or the like comprising a relatively at plate, the central portion of which is recessed to provide a circular rim for engaging the skin of said grapefruit and equally spaced radial portions of which are recessed to communicate with said central portion, and a plurality of spring pressed jaws pivotally mounted in said radial recesses and extending inwardly toward said central recess.

2. A table accessoryfor holding semi-spherical portions of grapefruit or the like comprising a relatively flat plate having an upwardly inclined marginal portion, and a centrally depressed p0rtion providing a circular rim for engaging the skin of said grapefruit, said plate having also a plurality of equally spaced radial recesses tapering inwardly toward the center thereof, and a plurality of spring pressed jaws of similarly tapering conguration pivotally mounted in said radial recesses and disposable upwardly into engagement with said grapefruit or downwardly into a nested position within said recesses.

DAVID D. GRIFFIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 53,849 McGill Apr. 10, 1866 521,612 Hiller et al June 19, 1894 521,613 Hiller June 19, 1894 527,603 Glahn Oct. 16, 1894 1,234,877 Coppedge July 31, 1917 1,246,624 Lundahl Nov. 13, 1917 1,250,954 Boyer Dec. 25, 1917 1,595,356 Moseman Aug. 10, 1926 1,720,115 Barnes July 9, 1929 1,919,765 Barnes July 25, 1933 1,974,221 Stonehouse Sept. 18, 1934 2,110,542 Allen Mar. 8, 1938 2,124,477 Thoeny July 19, 1938 2,352,684 Braddock July 4. 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,735 Great Britain Apr. 3, 1891 14,517 Great Britain Aug. 14, 1900 

